Class Discussion
Learner Variables in Age and Proficiency

As a part-time ESL teacher, you have two teaching positions. In the morning, you work at an elementary school with 4th graders. In the evenings, you teach at an adult school.

Valentines Day is coming up, and you need to plan lessons for your students. You'd like to put together a lesson that will include some cultural information, vocabulary, some opportunities for speaking and, possibly reading, writing, or listeninig.

1. How will your lesson for the elementary school children be different than the lesson for the adults? What will you take into consideration in terms of intellectual development, attention span, sensory input, affective factors, and authentic, meaningful language.

2. For your adult class, choose a level: beginning, intermediate, or advanced. How would your lesson and the way that you teach it change, based on the level of proficiency of your students?

3. Your supervisor at the adult site has asked you to devise a way to determine student levels. How would you devise an oral interview to test someone's English ability?

.